The Cellular Mechanism of Acupuncture for Ulcerative Colitis based on the Communication of Telocytes.

Acupuncture can ameliorate or treat diseases according to the meridian theory in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM); however, its mechanism has not been scientifically clarified. On the other hand, telocytes (TCs) are morphologically in accordance with the meridian system, which needs further cytological investigations and acupuncture confirmation. The present study showed that acupuncture could activate TCs in several ways, alleviating rabbit ulcerative colitis. TCs could cytologically communicate the acupoints, the acupuncture sites in skin with their corresponding large intestine by TC homo-cellular junctions, exosomes around TCs, and TC-mediated nerves or blood vessels. TCs expressed transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4, the mechanosensitive channel protein that can transduce the mechanical stimulation of acupuncture into biochemical signals transferring along the extremely thin and long TCs. Collectively, a cellular mechanism diagram of acupuncture was concluded based on TC characteristics. Those results also confirmed the viewpoint that TCs were the key cells of meridian essence in TCM.

Achieving High Strength and Ductility in Magnesium Alloys via Densely Hierarchical Double Contraction Nanotwins.

Light-weight magnesium alloys with high strength are especially desirable for the applications in transportation, aerospace, electronic components, and implants owing to their high stiffness, abundant raw materials, and environmental friendliness. Unfortunately, conventional strengthening methods mainly involve the formation of internal defects, in which particles and grain boundaries prohibit dislocation motion as well as compromise ductility invariably. Herein, we report a novel strategy for simultaneously achieving high specific yield strength (∼160 kN m kg-1) and good elongation (∼23.6%) in a duplex magnesium alloy containing 8 wt % lithium at room temperature, based on the introduction of densely hierarchical {101̅1}-{101̅1} double contraction nanotwins (DCTWs) and full-coherent hexagonal close-packed (hcp) particles in twin boundaries by ultrahigh pressure technique. These hierarchical nanoscaled DCTWs with stable interface characteristics not only bestow a large fraction of twin interface but also form interlaced continuous grids, hindering possible dislocation motions. Meanwhile, orderly aggregated particles offer supplemental pinning effect for overcoming latent softening roles of twin interface movement and detwinning process. The processes lead to a concomitant but unusual situation where double contraction twinning strengthens rather than weakens magnesium alloys. Those cutting-edge results provide underlying insights toward designing alternative and more innovative hcp-type structural materials with superior mechanical properties.